Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Why I Need a Kindle AND an iPad

With the caveat IF you're a dedicated readerThe Kindle has changed my life as a reader. After turning [cough] 40 I couldn't read regular books comfortably with or without my new (cute) reading glasses (& forget paperback books!) and I stopped reading as much as I used to. [sad face] During a Bethany Beach VaCa or summer break I used to read at least a book a day! Heck, I read the last Harry Potter in like one (long) sitting! (ok, it was 5am! but still) Thus, the Kindle, with it's comfy E-Ink better than paper display which allows for reading in extreme lighting situations and minimizes eye-strain, and it's ability to change font size has changed all that. I am back to reading again and it feels SO RIGHT!

iPad-Licious! I've been thinking about this for a long time - holding out to buy an iPad for gen 2 -(and if you follow me on Twitter you know that I happily lost that fight) I even got a smaller NEW graphite Kindle for Christmas for travel! (see above & thanks Mom & Dad!) Resplendent in its GEEK CHIC handmade Dodo Case!

Stay tuned for an extended blog posting about the iPad special features & must have Apps (with super cool guest posters, too!) coming soon.

But just today my dear Auntie Lynn of Life with Lynn (my BEST blogging student!) emailed my mother & I this request: "Dear Gwynnie and Sissy,I have been thinking that maybe I neeeeeeed a kindle... and I know that you both have one. Do you love it??? Do you USE it??? Do you recommend it???"

And this is what I wrote:

Things to take into consideration before buying an eReader:

Buy the regular (not colour) Nook if you read for more than 2 hours at time on VaCa and if you have more than 1 friend you know who already has one NEAR YOU, likes EXACTLY what you like to read & you want to share books

buy the Colour Nook if you have friends to share books with, don't have a smart phone & will never buy an iPad (see more below)

If not...then get the Kindle. I love my Kindles!

Splurge & buy the LARGE Black KindleDX with 3G if you read fast and you read for 2+ hours or more at a time for comfort & eyes and less pushing of NEXT PAGE and you like to carry big purses or tote bags.

Buy the little black (graphite) Kindle WiFi if you want a bargain, you're a dedicated reader who likes to read for a long time everywhere & anywhere, you have a lot of WiFi spots near you... & you like to tuck into a purse for travel

Splurge & buy the little Kindle 3g if you don't have a smart phone for the enhanced features of web browsing - I was under the misapprehension that like the iPad 3g there was a monthly connection charge. NOT SO! When you ARE in a 3G network area your Kindle will find it & it will be turbo charged! (doh!) Yeah..so this is your best bet!

For dedicated readers like me - I need the comfy & relaxing E-Ink (NOT LCD Backlit) text of the #Kindle for long time reading.

How I'm Gonna Roll with My KindleSo now that I have a gorgeous new small Kindle (thanks Mom & Dad!) for when I'm traveling & don't want to be bogged down - I foresee packing my LARGE Kindle Dx in checked baggage for a week at the beach, or for a cruise, for when I'm staying put, relaxing, & wanting to read happily for HOURS. I will carry my little Kindle in my Coach bag for when standing in line at airport security, reading on the plane, & waiting in the doctor's office. With a battery life of a MONTH, slim & lightweight new design, faster page turns, this is truly a brilliant creation!

There's an APP for That: Kindle Books EVERYwhere! When I have my iPad I can read ALL OF MY Kindle books on the FREE Amazon Kindle App - same with my Droid Fascinate smart phone. LOVE THAT! If I really want to read for short periods in the dark? iPad with Kindle app! The flicking of the page really IS cool.The Colour Nook: iPad Lite? "The Nook Color is the big wild card here. It's not as versatile as those tablets, but it's already got a worthwhile Web browser, works as a decent media player (for some audio and video files), and supports Pandora's free music streaming service. Barnes & Noble is pledging to deliver more apps in 2011, and--since the Nook Color uses a version of the Android operating system--porting existing Android apps should be pretty straightforward. The addition of (for instance) a good e-mail app, social media apps (Facebook, Twitter), and real Flash support (already promised) could go a long way to making the Nook Color a "good enough" tablet for users who don't want to pay for the far more expensive likes of an iPad or Galaxy Tab."- John P. Falcone

So why did I need an iPad, too? Cause it's cool. Full Stop.

As my friends Donna Anderson & Joquetta Johonson say right now: "It's a great Consumer of information." For most things, you need a laptop or a desktop to create but the iPad is a GORGEOUS, nimble, fun, & amazing new tool to consume & share creations.

Also as I RT'd & tweeted:gwynethjones RT @MrKeenan I'm kinda done with the 'What's the point of the iPad Qs - Me, too! Either you want one or you don't- I have 2 kindles & a #iPadAnd I'm really REALLY happy about it! I'm still waiting to see how the Kindles & Nooks line up for adding to my school library - So......

When deciding which eReader to put on my Christmas list, I did some research and found out that the Nook works with Overdrive & the Kindle doesn't. (Overdrive is the digital library at least in Maryland - if you haven't played with it, do it soon!) I can't afford my reading habit even at ebook prices, so the Nook is where I landed. I lusted after the iPad from day one, but couldn't hit "Buy" on the website. My husband completely surprised me with one for Christmas and it hasn't left my hands since then.

Thanks for this post! You've justified my continued longing for an iPad and Kindle DX despite having a Kindle3. I love the Kindle 3 but I also lust after the DX for reading PDFs- I read a LOT of reports and it would be so much easier on a larger screen (plus note taking and highlight ftw!) And of course I want an iPad because well I do :-)

I just received a Kindle for Christmas from my children. Not wanting to pay for books when I have access to a library full of them, I wasn't sure how much I would use it. Just discovered MANY galleys on NetGalley are available in Kindle format. I now have 28 books to read (NEW, not even on the shelves in my library...yet).

My daughter wrote that EXACT SAME THING on her christmas wish list to Santa. Santa, alas, did not oblige, but Grandma gave her a b&w Nook, which has been working out very well (she's in sixth grade and reads about a book a day. Her Nook plus our library fines might actually put us into the poor house, but what the heck.)

However, I can already see the limitations to the Nook, and I think eventually we'll need something more flexible. Or not we. She. I'm not much for e-reading, being more of a tactile sorta girl. (Last year, when I was listening to Sherman Alexie speak, he said this about his Kindle: "In the end, it was sorta like masturbating with a condom on: still fun, but just not the same." I feel the same way.)

Still, for those of us with family members who are book-bottomless-pits, I absolutely see the value. So, next year; Kindle.

As a passionate lover of books, I was quite resistant to purchasing a Kindle. But for Christmas I purchased one and now I can't put it down! I love how light it is, how I can increase the font so I don't need my glasses, and I seriously think I read even faster. And with my frequent travels, it is easy to purchase new titles at any wifi location and it doesn't add to the weight of my luggage! I'm now contemplating the iPad2. How cool that they have a free Kindle app and I can enjoy my literature on either the iPad or my Kindle.

I read on my Paperwhite consistently.It's superior to a paper book.I likewise have an iPad and I can't imagine reading on it.It's much excessively substantial and like you and a great deal of other individuals,reading continually on a LCD screen provides for me really extreme eyestrain.The iPad is an universally useful tablet, great at a considerable measure of things and even fabulous at some of them.Tragically reading is one of the things its just genuinely great at.The Paperwhite is a specialized reading device that is about tantamount to reading gets.

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About Me

Gwyneth A. Jones, aka The Daring Librarian, is a blogger, a Tweeter, an international Ed Tech speaker, trope and meme archivist, creator of content, a citizen of advocacy, and a resident of social media. Gwyneth is a Google Certified Teacher, and the author of the award winning Daring Librarian blog. Privileged to have been elected and to have served on the 2011-2014 ISTE Board of Directors. Jones is also a Library Journal Mover & Shaker, a Gale/Cengage New Leader, and was named the Best of the Best and a Visionary Leader by Teacher Librarian Magazine. Her work & writings have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Huffington Post. Admittedly, she’s also a goofball, a geek, and ridiculously humble.

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